


Angels Fly

by Loveandcoffeeandothersimplicities



Category: Riverdale (TV 2017)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-28
Updated: 2020-10-05
Packaged: 2021-03-07 16:35:53
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 5
Words: 6,516
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26700784
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Loveandcoffeeandothersimplicities/pseuds/Loveandcoffeeandothersimplicities
Summary: Five years. That's how long it's been since Jughead walked out on the love of his life. Now, he's found her once more but, not everything is as it seems.
Relationships: Betty Cooper/Jughead Jones
Comments: 10
Kudos: 37
Collections: 8th Bughead Fanfiction Awards - Nominees





	1. Chapter 1

Chapter: 1

Lost Girl Found

Jughead looked at the text he had just received.

Sweet Pea: Found her boss. At some club in Harlem called, "Angels Fly". Trust me, nothing about this club screams Angels.

Jughead stared at the text for a moment, thinking about how to reply, before shutting the screen and pulling his laptop towards him, looking up said club. Upon investigation, Jughead felt the familiar prickle of hot anger start coursing through him whenever he thought about his…ex-lover, thanks to him, and where she might have ended up. The club, while seemingly trying to be appealing, just screamed "danger".

"Fuck, Betty, what the fuck did you get yourself into?" Jughead growled, shaking his head as he looked at the pictures of the women who were used as the "dancers". He knew exactly the type of dancing that was required from the website alone. He felt sickened to his core knowing that she was there of all types of places. Sighing, he shot off a text to his dad.

Jughead Jones: Found her. Harlem. Tell Charles but not Alice. Alice would have a heart attack and I need to do recon. You can come if you want but JB stays behind.

FP didn't bother to reply, not that Jughead thought he would, and all too soon there was a knock on his apartment door.

Opening it, he nodded at his dad.

"Let's go get our girl, son," FP said, voice grave.

XXX

In Harlem, Jughead took in the grit about the city, knowing that if anyone could survive that type of living environment, it was Betty Cooper. He parked his bike right outside of the club, Sweet Pea, Fangs, and FP following suit. Staring up at the club, Jughead exhaled a sigh.

"Fuck is she here for?" Sweet Pea growled, and Jughead knew he was feeling protective of the blonde – they had been friends at one point, before they had been fucked up in the shit storm that was the war the Serpents endured.

"No clue, but we're not leaving until she's with us," Jughead said, FP nodding his approval as well. He checked his gun holster, making sure it was loaded, as did the three younger Serpents, before they made their way into the club. Taking in the atmosphere, Jughead's eyes looked towards the dancers on the stage. No clothes. Not even a fucking garment covering their bodies and Jughead felt feral anger rolling through his stomach. Betty was here. Just then, an announcer started speaking.

"Gentlemen, I know why you're here tonight. Our main dancer is the absolute definition of visionary. She's confident in the way she moves; graceful with the way she pleases. You all know the drill: bidding for her starts at 1000," the announcer said, voice smooth and Jughead's ears were roaring as his heart thundered.

Please God, not her. Never her.

His prayer wasn't answered as the announcer twirled two fingers towards the left wing of the stage, drawing the men's attention, as well as Jughead's. A slow movement – skin slowly being exposed as an ankle peeked out from the curtain in a tantalizing fashion Jughead was all too familiar with. Slowly, so slow he could barely breathe, Betty herself emerged, all shy eyes and sultry expression mixed together.

"Fuck, no," Sweet Pea breathed, Fangs' soft growl being heard next. "They're fucking auctioning her off."

Jughead swallowed painfully, eyes watching as Betty crawled out onto the stage to thunderous applause. She smiled impishly, making eye contact with some men in the front of the audience but Jughead didn't miss the guarded look in her eyes. Didn't fucking miss how haunted she looked. Not that he blamed her. Not in the slightest.

"Our prime star," the announcer's voice drew Jughead's eyes to him, silently seething at the fact that he was looking at Betty like she was a piece of fucking meat. "Is beautiful. Surely knows how to please to whatever the highest bidder's standard is."

Betty shrugged off her robe, smiling at the catcalls resounding through the room, but again, there was a dead look to her eyes. Like she had just accepted this at this point. It made Jughead's teeth grind, wondering just how many times she was put through this.

"We are bidding higher than whatever prick dares to try to buy her," he said lowly, rolling his neck from side-to-side. Sweet Pea just narrowed his eyes.

"Without a doubt," he growled.

The bidding started, numbers reaching higher than Jughead wanted to believe possible. It was disgusting that these men wanted to buy her for fucking sex. She wasn't a prostitute. How she ended up in this business he'd figure out at a later date. For now, he just waited til the announcer started to make the sold motion before calling out the bid.

"Fifty thousand," Jughead's voice carried through the room, causing Betty to look over at him. He had – well, he wasn't sure what to expect, but it wasn't her looking pissed off beyond belief. At least, she had some look back in her eyes.

"SOLD!" The announcer screamed joyfully, eyes alight with selfish intentions. Jughead scoffed at the disgusting piece of shit as he began making his way to Betty, who was standing there, looking at the floor. When he reached the man, who was literally selling her for sex, he met his look. "Forsythe Pendleton Jones III."

He didn't give a shit about using his full name. He needed him to feel how serious he was in that moment.

The announcer chuckled. "Peter Chamberlain. I see you're very interested in our girl here. She's quite good in the bedroom, trust me."

Jughead looked at Betty as she flinched slightly but said nothing. He doubted very seriously there was an ounce of consent to that particular night. Or nights. He nodded.

"I am," he replied, hating himself for how dirty the words sounded. "We'll be going now."

He handed over the money, before making his way to Betty, trying to look her in the eyes to assure her that it was okay, that she was safe. She wouldn't meet his look and he sighed before gently picking up her robe and putting it on her. "It's cold outside. I want you warm, alright?"

His tone was low, soothing, but she still flinched as if he was shouting but nodded regardless.

"As you wish," she said in a voice void of emotion.

Not looking at Peter or any of the men in the room, he tucked her into his side, not giving a fuck if he looked like he was protecting her – that's exactly what he was doing, and these men needed to see that.

"I'm getting you out of this, I swear to God," he said lowly as he walked them towards the fellow Serpents. Sweet Pea looked at her, smiling gently.

"Hi, doll," he said lowly, standing on her other side as they moved out the club. Glancing at his dad, Jughead noticed the look of deep sadness in his eyes. He nodded. He knew.

"Jughead," Fangs said, looking at Betty. "Will she be able to ride on the back of your bike?"

Looking at Betty, he watched as she nodded.

"Yeah, I will," she murmured, keeping her head down. He saw that her cheeks were flamed with red and sighed.

"Whatever you're blaming yourself for, don't," he murmured so low only she'd be able to hear.

"You don't know what I've done," she muttered.

"I know that you did what you had to. That you're not in this business willingly," he countered gently as they made their way to his bike and he helped her get on. She finally made eye contact with him and he had to choke back a shudder at once more seeing how lifeless her eyes looked.

"It's a fucked-up situation you won't even begin to understand," she mumbled, but he shook his head.

"We will figure it out, promise. Like we always used to," he replied, getting on the bike himself. "Hold tight."

She wrapped her arms around his waist, and he kicked off, leaving the club behind.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2.

Monsters

As Jughead drove down the familiar roads leading to Riverdale, he felt Betty trembling slightly from behind him, sending his mind into overdrive. What the hell had happened to her in the past five years? What had happened that landed her in a fucking sex-trafficking operation? Because that's exactly what is was. No amount of "club lifestyle" could convince him otherwise. That man, Peter, was selling her for sex. And Jughead wouldn't rest until he paid for it.

When the sign of the Whyte Wyrm pulled up, Jughead slowed his bike to a stop, parking in his usual spot as the other members in his gang did the same. He turned to look at Betty, who wasn't meeting any of their eyes, and cast a worried look towards Sweet Pea. His fellow Serpent nodded, muttering he'd be right back. Watching him head inside the bar, Jughead turned his attention back to Betty.

"Betts?" Jughead asked softly, frowning as she paled, closing her eyes as a shudder wracked her frame.

"Don't call me that, please," she whispered, eyes still closed. Jughead felt a pang in his heart but swallowed down the emotion, nodding his head.

"Yeah, of course," he murmured. "I just want to make sure you're okay."

Betty let out a bitter chuckle but didn't say anything.

"Betty, please," Jughead begged. "Talk to me."

"I can't," she said quietly.

"You have to," he willed her to understand that she couldn't get through whatever she had endured without the help of other people. She shook her head.

"No," she said flatly, finally opening her eyes and getting off his bike. He took the moment to take in her appearance, noting how thin she looked. He had seen it at the club when she was naked in front of those men – those monsters. Monsters who raked their eyes over her small body as if it was theirs' for the taking. The thought alone made him want to put his fist through a wall. Sighing, he nodded.

"We need to get you something to eat," he said, tone soft, eyes gentle. She didn't say anything in response, and he looked at Fangs, who nodded.

"I'll pick up a selection from Pop's," the Serpent said gently, smiling at Betty.

Her eyes had a bit more life in them at the thought.

"Uhm, double cheeseburger, extra onion rings, and a chocolate shake, please," she whispered, and Fangs nodded.

"Anything for you, sweetheart," he replied, tone kind before starting his bike once more and taking off towards the town's beloved diner. Betty fell silent after he left, staring at the ground as she wrapped her arms around herself. Jughead knew that she was trying to hold herself together – more than the robe she was currently wrapped in ever could.

"Can I get you some clothes?" Jughead asked softly, making sure she knew everything from here on out was her choice. She bit her lip, thinking about it, before looking down at the robe and nodding.

"Yeah, whatever you have is fine, thanks," she said.

He gently clasped her elbow and began to lead her into the bar. It fell silent the moment they entered. Whether or not it was a conscious movement, Jughead didn't know, but Betty shied behind him as eyes turned towards them. He angled his body to where it was protecting her from the curious patrons.

"Bar's closed. Everyone out," he barked out the order, dismissing the general round of groans that came with an early night. When the others left, Jughead looked at Betty, who was looking behind him. Glancing over his shoulder, he spotted Sweet Pea and Toni making their way to them. He nodded at Toni, who returned the nod before looking at Betty.

"Good to see you, girl," her tone was kind; gentle in ways Toni Topaz wasn't known for. Betty's lips tugged upwards slightly but didn't say anything. "Are you okay?"

A shrug. "Fine."

Toni knew not to push so looked at Jughead. "I can get her in my apartment and just have Fangs come up with the food?"

Jughead bit his lip, looking at Betty before nodding. It was only the tug on his jacket that had him stopping himself from replying as he looked at Betty, eyebrows furrowed.

"Yeah, hon?" Jughead asked.

"I, uh, think I should get a hotel room or something," she muttered, but he was already shaking his head, along with Sweet Pea and Toni.

"No. Please, just stay here for now," Jughead replied, tone begging for her to understand. She shook her head, more frustratedly this time but FP spoke up then.

"Betty, sweetheart, I need you to stay here, okay? It will help this ticker of mine stay calm knowing you're somewhere safe," his dad said, voice kind as he looked at her. Betty studied his expression before sighing.

"Alright," she agreed. Just then, she spoke up once more. "H-Have you talked to my mom?"

FP shook his head. "No. I figured that was something you could do if and when you wanted to."

She breathed out a sigh of relief. "Thanks."

Her voice was so painfully small that Jughead wanted to set the world on fire for causing her this much distress. He looked at Toni, who nodded.

"C'mon, girl, let's get you some clothes," she said, letting Betty follow her up the stairs to where her own place was.

XXX

Fangs returned with food twenty minutes later and set it down onto the bar top as he talked in low tones with Jughead.

"Any idea how she ended up there yet?" Fangs asked.

Jughead shook his head, lighting a cigarette.

"Not a fucking clue but I will find out," he muttered, and Fangs nodded.

"When you do, let me have first shot at whoever got her involved, yeah?" Fangs growled. Jughead huffed out a tired laugh.

"Fuck, I'm tired," he sighed, rotating his shoulders to try and alleviate some of the tension that had built up.

"Yeah, but she's more tired," Sweet Pea said, handling some food as well. Jughead nodded.

"Don't I know it," he muttered, eyes looking towards the stairs that led to Toni's apartment. Just then, her door opened, and the two women made their way down the stairs. Betty was swamped in Toni's clothes and Jughead felt his heart clench. Dammit. Toni was tiny as is. Betty shouldn't be smaller than her. It wasn't right.

"Hey," Toni said, hopping up onto the bar and accepting the burger Fangs handed her. Betty followed suit, taking the burger from Sweet Pea with a small smile.

"Thanks," she murmured before taking a bite and sighing happily. She ate quickly, inhaling the food so fast that the other members in the room could do nothing more than stare in horror.

"Betty," Jughead said softly, and the blonde paused, wiping her lips as she looked at him. "When is the last time you ate?"

She tilted her head to the side, thinking about it, before shrugging.

"I think about a week ago," she replied nonchalantly, and Jughead felt his fist flex.

"Why?" Jughead asked.

"Part of the rules," she whispered, staring down at her burger, eyes caught in a memory. Jughead would do anything to take that haunted look out of her eyes, so nodded and dropped the subject for now. "Well, Fangs got extra onion rings. Yours' if you want them."

She hesitantly looked at the Serpents. "You guys don't mind?"

After they all assured her they didn't, she snatched the onion rings out of the bag and devoured those too. Jughead was scared she was going to make herself sick if she continued to eat at that pace but luckily, she seemed to sense she needed to slow down and finished the last bit of the food in a normal manner. When all the food was gone, Betty spoke up once more.

"I really can get a hotel," she said.

It was Sweet Pea who denied her. "No, you really can't. We need you here, so we know you're alright."

Betty sighed. "Alright."

With that, she and Toni made their way back up to Toni's loft, shutting the door behind them.

"Tomorrow, we're going to talk to her," Jughead said. It was a promise as much as it was an assurance to himself. No one said anything. They didn't need to.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3. 

Hard Knock Life

Jughead got coffee and breakfast to go from Pop's, placing the containers into the holder on the back of his bike before making his way back to the Wyrm. He knew him and his fellow members were going to sit down and talk with Betty, whether she liked it or not. He also knew he needed to approach the situation delicately if he had any hope of her opening up to him. Sighing, he kicked off, leaving the diner, and heading off to where he needed to be. Once at the bar, he nodded at Sweet Pea.

"Betty still upstairs?" Jughead asked, noting the frown pulling at the other mans' lips.

"Yeah, she hasn't come out since after dinner last night," the taller sighed. He ran a hand through his hair in frustration. "This is such bull shit, Jughead. I mean, they were fucking selling her for sex, for fucks sake. What the hell happened that got her in that situation?"

Jughead sighed, understanding his friend's anger all too well. "I don't know but we will find out. I swear."

Sweet Pea just nodded, glaring at the liquor shelf as if it had personally offended him. Who knows? Maybe it had. Jughead made his way towards Toni's loft, knocking on the door once there.

Opening it, he came face-to-face with Betty herself. "Yes?"

Jughead swallowed at how small she still sounded. "Brought breakfast and coffee. Can we talk?"

His tone was hopeful, but she bit her lip.

"Jug…," she trailed off.

"Betty, please. We need to talk," he murmured, voice catching in the back of his throat. She nodded slowly.

"Okay," she breathed, accepting the coffee he handed her. He smiled slightly.

"Okay," he agreed, looking back towards the bar, and nodding at Sweet Pea. Fangs entered the room just then, so he beckoned him to them as well. Once the Serpents had settled themselves inside of Toni's apartment and Betty had taken a sip of her coffee, Jughead decided to break the silence.

"So?" Jughead asked, looking at her.

She exhaled a sigh, shifting around until she was sitting with one of her knees pulled up to her chest.

"You guys can ask questions, but I might not be able to answer them all. Not right now, at least," she said quietly, fiddling with the sleeves of the sweater she was currently enveloped in. Jughead swallowed, taking her answer for what it was worth.

"Understood, hon. Just, answer what you can," he said softly, watching as she took a deep breath before nodding. "How did you end up in Harlem?"

Betty sighed. "I wasn't sure where I wanted to go after you, and I parted ways. I just knew I didn't have a home in Riverdale anymore. So, I caught a cab out of the town and just went to New York. Harlem wasn't even my original destination."

"What was?" Sweet Pea asked softly, eyes on her.

"The city. Big Apple and all that," she laughed; it sounded painful. "It was great at first. Then..."

When she didn't continue, it was Toni who prompted her.

"Then?" Toni asked gently.

"I met him," she whispered, eyes clouding with hatred.

"Peter?" Jughead asked, working hard to keep his voice gentle.

Betty surprised him as she shook her head, letting out a wet laugh.

"No, Charlie," she clarified.

"Who was he?" Fangs asked.

"Uh, boyfriend, I guess," she said, shrugging. "Or at least that's what I thought."

"How did you go from Charlie to Angels Fly?" Jughead asked carefully, not sure he really wanted to know either way.

Betty sniffed. "They're one in the same. The connection between Charlie and the club. That's how he got them, well, us."

She stared into her coffee, looking into the black liquid as memories consumed her. The Serpents looked at each other as they let her take all the time she needed before coming back to them. When she blinked, shaking her head, Jughead continued.

"How did you meet him, hon?" Jughead asked.

"I was looking for a place to live," she mumbled. "I didn't have much cash on me, and I just needed to find somewhere that wasn't benches in the park or a homeless shelter. He, Charlie, found me while I was looking. I was pretty hungry that night and he offered to buy me dinner. I knew I shouldn't have accepted. God, I was so fucking stupid." Her huff of laughter was irritated and tired. "Anyways, I let him. I just wanted something to eat. We started talking. He seemed sweet. Concerned in ways no one had been in a long time. He didn't offer a place for me in his apartment. Not that night. He said he knew a local place that helped people – first timers – in the city. So, I went there."

Jughead's hands were shaking as he watched her take another sip of coffee. He didn't know if she was going to continue but she did.

"He met me there the next morning. Said he wanted to take me out to breakfast. I didn't think there was any harm in it. I went and we spent three hours at this little hole-in-the-wall café. I laughed harder than I had in a long time. I mean, I thought I had forgotten how to laugh at that point," she said, a ghost of a smile on her lips. Shaking her head, she carried on. "A few dates happened, then a few weeks of getting to know each other led to a few months of dating which led to meeting his friends."

Her voice had taken on a darker edge and Jughead could feel the room grow even more quiet as everyone listened to her.

"I met Peter one night at a party Charlie was hosting. I remember not wanting to go to the party, I had a migraine that day and just wanted an early night, but he asked, and I went. God, I fucking went. He introduced me to Peter almost immediately, talking up how great of a business man he was. Peter took one look at me and was sold. Asked me if I had ever danced before. I told him I was a cheerleader in high school, not sure how much of it I still remembered, but he was good enough with that. Said he had a burlesque club that was as "nice as they came". I could do an audition to see if I fit in with the other girls and get a potential job."

Again, she fell quiet. Jughead took the moment to tear his eyes away from her and look at his friends. Varying degrees of sadness stretched across all their faces, mimicking his own expression. Betty cleared her throat, drawing his attention back to her as she wrapped her hands around her coffee cup.

"I did the audition, made it into the club," she whispered. "It was fine at first. I just danced. Never-never took off my clothes. That didn't come until about a month later and by that point, shit had gone to hell."

"How so?" Sweet Pea asked softly.

"Peter had introduced me to the "real" women of the club. The one's who got paid extra for more services than I was currently doing. I knew exactly what he was referring to. Told him I wanted no part in it and I'd quit if he tried to make me," she said, voice bitter. "Charlie didn't like that."

Jughead felt fury boil inside of him. "What did he do?"

"Told me I didn't have a choice. I had sold my soul to the devil when I met him. The puzzle started coming together right around that time. Charlie looks for women like me. Newcomers to the city. Alone."

"He used you," Jughead said quietly, squeezing her hand gently. "Manipulated you into believing he was helping."

Again, she sniffed as she nodded. "Yeah. Anyways. He threatened to just get rid of me and make it look like an accident. And no one would be the wiser. I mean," she paused, waving a hand towards the Serpents. "None of you knew where I was. Hadn't talked to you guys in a handful of years at that point. Nor had I talked to anyone else from Riverdale. So, I sucked my fear up and just did what he said. Being forced to have sex seemed better than being dead."

With that last sentence, Betty fell completely silent. She was done talking, Jughead knew this, and he wanted nothing more to wrap her in his arms. He didn't. He wasn't sure how she'd respond. Sighing, he spoke up.

"Betty. What's his last name? Charlie?" Jughead asked.

She shook her head. "No."

"What?" Jughead asked.

"No. You're not going to do whatever it is you think you need to do."

With that, she got up, walking towards the room she had slept in the night before and closed the door behind her, leaving a group of Serpents staring after her in pain.


	4. Chapter 4

Jughead left Betty alone for a few hours, giving her time to get acclimated back to being in Riverdale before deciding to approach her again. Knocking on Toni's door, he was faced with the petite Serpent herself this time. Toni sighed.

"Jones, I don't think Betty is up for company," she murmured apologetically but Jughead shook his head.

"To be honest, T, I don't give a shit. She does not need to alienate herself in that room. The sooner she starts socializing again, the better she will feel," he said firmly, and Toni snorted.

"Says the social outcast of Riverdale," she replied, tossing her hair behind her shoulder, unimpressed. She still walked through the apartment and to Betty's door, though, Jughead following behind her. Knocking on it, she called through the wooden barrier.

"Betty, everyone's favorite pain in the ass is here to bug you. I suggest you just let him, or he'll start bugging me." She paused, side-eyeing him. "More than he already has."

Jughead rolled his eyes and just waited to see if Betty would come out of the room. The lock clicked open a few moments later, causing Jughead's stomach to sink. Why is she locking herself away? She's not a prisoner. Not anymore. He met her guarded eyes with a kind smile.

"Hi, Betty," he said, hands in his pockets. "Feel like taking a ride?"

Betty looked absolutely against the idea but nodded, nonetheless. She traipsed out of her room and grabbed her sweater. "Let's go."

Jughead so desperately wanted to reach out and place a hand on the small of her back, reminding her that she wasn't alone, but he couldn't. Not until she wanted to address the people who were in her corner. So, he kept his hands tucked to his sides as he followed her out to his bike, letting her get situated on it before hoping on himself.

"Hold on, okay?" Jughead asked.

"Okay," she whispered, wrapping her arms around his waist and pressing herself flush against his torso. If he thought hard enough, it was like they were those two high school kids all over again. Going on late night rides after a date a Pop's. Sighing, he cleared the thoughts from his mind. They weren't those kids. Not after everything Betty had endured.

XXX

He stopped at Sweetwater River, parking the bike before dismounting after her. She looked at the river, eyes soft.

"We spent a lot of evenings out here, didn't we?" Betty asked quietly, tone wistful. Jughead chuckled.

"Yeah, we did. Although, the sex during the winter wasn't some of my fondest memories," he admitted.

"Didn't you beg for a blow job to warm you up?" Betty asked dryly.

"I didn't beg," Jughead huffed. "I needed help staving off frostbite."

"If that's the story you're trying to spin," Betty shrugged, lips quirked up at him. Jughead laughed.

"Yeah, not the greatest but to be fair, haven't written in a handful of years," he replied. Betty studied him.

"Why?" Betty asked curiously.

"Couldn't," he said honestly. She nodded but didn't press; didn't need to. She knew why he couldn't.

"So, what are we doing here?" Betty asked point-blank. "Can't have sex if that's what you want."

He'd be offended by her assumption if he didn't see how hallow she looked while saying those words. It wasn't about him. He shook his head, expelling a soft sigh.

"No, hon, not why I brought you here," he murmured before sitting down onto the bank and patting the spot next to him. She hesitated before folding down herself.

"Then why?" Betty asked quietly, eyes on the currents of the river.

"You need to tell me Charlie's last name," he said softly but firmly.

She inhaled sharply. "I can't."

"Can't or won't?" Jughead asked patiently. He would never get impatient about this. Not with her.

She bit her lip before sighing. "Both."

"Okay, why can't you?" Jughead asked, breaking down the reasons into the sections she was offering up.

"Because he will kill you. I don't need to see anyone else die," she muttered, then blinked, as if she couldn't believe she had said that out loud.

"Who did he kill?" Jughead asked softly, capturing her hands so she couldn't do something he needed her not to. She looked down, torn, before sighing shakily.

"I-I only knew about a couple of the people, you have to believe me," she whispered imploringly, and he nodded, reassuring her quickly that he did. "It, it was my friend Stella. If you can call her a friend. She was a dancer, too. We, uh, sort of looked out for each other in the club."

She paused but Jughead knew she had more to say so just stayed silent, letting her take her time.

"It happened one night when I had a client I was supposed to meet," she said, voice twisting into a snarl around the word, "client". "I didn't want to go. Was really hesitant about meeting this guy because he wasn't a good one."

"Were any of them?" Jughead asked.

"You'd be surprised," Betty said seriously. "There were some who weren't rough. Didn't hurt me."

He swallowed down the bile in the back of his throat at the image of men three times the size of her small frame, taking what wasn't theirs' for the taking. He nodded. "Please, continue."

"So, I didn't want to go that night, no matter how much money Peter would have made. I'd rather take the beating I would have gotten instead. But then, Stella offered to go. She didn't mind." Her eyes clouded with tears she refused to let fall and Jughead just wanted to tell her that she could. That it was okay to cry.

"What happened, hon?" Jughead whispered.

"Charlie was there when Stella showed up. At the guy's place. I don't know if he was expecting me or not. But him and the guy were arguing about loyalty to the club or something. I don't know much. All I know is Charlie pulled his gun, Stella got caught in the shooting, and they both ended up dead. Stella and the client."

Jughead ran a hand over his face for the poor woman who didn't deserve that type of death or life. "Fuck."

Betty huffed out an aborted chuckled. "Yeah. Lost my only friend that night because of the fucking club."

"And you couldn't go to the police." It wasn't a question; Jughead knew she'd have been in more danger if she did.

"No," she whispered, lip trembling. "Uh, I just helped Charlie bury her body."

"That prick made you help?" Jughead asked quietly, and Betty laughed wetly.

"Yeah, he did," she muttered. "I would go visit the place once a month; bring flowers and things but I am wracked with guilt every day. There's a family out there, looking for their daughter, and they'll never know what happened to her."

At this, she let the tears fall, body shaking with the weight of her grief. Jughead tucked her into his chest, gently cupping her neck. "Shh, hon. It's not your fault. You did nothing wrong. We're going to catch Charlie."

Jughead wouldn't rest until him and that other fucker, Peter, were six feet under.

Author's note: Enjoy! Xx


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter Five: Albany

It was a few days later that found Jughead, Sweet Pea, Betty, and FP all sitting at the bar, talking quietly. Betty was drinking a cup of coffee as Jughead ran ideas by the other Serpents.

"What we really need to do is find out how to pin-down Charlie's whereabouts," he said, and Betty snorted.

"Jughead, if Charlie doesn't want to be found, he won't be. Trust me. He's particularly good at hiding himself and what belongs to him," she replied, fingers wrapped around her mug, eyes lost in thought. Jughead shared an uneasy look with Sweet Pea.

"He ever hidden you, darlin'?" The taller asked, looking at her in concern. She shrugged one shoulder.

"I mean, I don't know if that was his intention, but yeah, I wasn't able to be out in the city during certain times," she muttered, eyes downcast.

Jughead swallowed his anger, knowing it wouldn't help the situation. "Why?"

Rolling her shoulders back, Betty huffed out an aborted chuckle. "It didn't look good for business if I was seen talking to men who didn't frequent the club."

Biting back his reply to that, Jughead nodded. "Okay, so do you know where he could be? Any inclination?"

Betty shook her head before pausing, tilting it to the side as she thought. "Well…there is a place."

"Where?" Jughead asked, desperate for anything at this point.

"He-he has a cabin in upstate New York. Albany, I think," she murmured. "I was never brought to it. I wasn't ever bad enough to be brought there."

That caused coils to tighten in Jughead's stomach and he couldn't reply. Sweet Pea asked the question for him, regardless.

"Bad enough?" Sweet Pea growled. "The hell does that mean?"

Betty blinked, looking at the men before her. Sighing, she bit her lip.

"I'm going out on a limb here and telling you guys this. I could end up dead. Or worse," she muttered. "Please, don't make me regret it. Please."

Her voice was small, frame hunched in on itself, and FP squeezed her hand gently, causing her to look up at him.

"I swear honey, we're not going to let anything else happen to you, alright?" FP asked softly, tone gentle, and Betty nodded.

"So, he has a cabin in Albany, as I've said. Peter always had him bring women there who needed to be broken in, as Peter put it," Betty exhaled harshly. "Women who fought back against Peter. You don't do that. You can't ever do that."

There was something in her tone that had Jughead looking at her cautiously.

"You have," he said carefully. It wasn't a question. Not with the way she flinched before nodding.

"Yeah, I have," she breathed.

"I'm assuming you were punished?" Jughead asked hoarsely, chest constricting at the thought of what all that could possibly entail.

Betty nodded. "Yeah. It wasn't as bad as it could have been. Not since it was my first time. He just, uh, slapped me around. Made sure I knew who my superiors were. I didn't fight back after that."

Jughead's mind went back to the conversation they had had a few days prior where she had said she would have been willing to take the beating Peter would have instilled had she refused to meet the client. Would it have just been a beating, though? The question alone set Jughead's teeth on edge.

Sweet Pea brought him back to the present moment.

"That fucker laid his hands on you?" Sweet Pea asked in a deadly calm voice. Betty laughed. It sounded tired.

"Sweet Pea, it is what it is. It was my life," she muttered, squeezing her friends' hand. "No good getting mad about it now."

Jughead carded a hand through his hair. "Okay. So, we need to look into the cabin in Albany."

"I'll go with whoever is going," Betty said. Three voices went to shut her down, but she shook her head. "No, you guys don't get to play heroes without me. Besides, I'm the only one who knows about it. I'm the only one who knows about the girls who get taken there. Do you honestly think they'll trust a bunch of faces they've never seen before?"

"Fuck, I hate it when you're right," Sweet Pea grumbled. Jughead chuckled.

"Makes two of us," he sighed. Betty just said nothing, lips quirked slightly.

"Okay, so we get to the cabin. If there are girls there, we need to be careful about how we set up the plan. They're our number one priority," Betty said, taking a sip of her coffee as she compartmentalized their course of action. Jughead shook his head.

"No offense, Betts, but you're our number one priority," he said.

"But don't you get I can't be?" Betty snapped. "I can't be if we have a hope of saving them. No one else needs to die."

Jughead knew she was thinking about Stella; thinking about the pain and guilt alike she faced every day. He nodded, interlocking their fingers hesitantly, unsure of how she'd respond. She didn't do anything other than look down at their hands before looking back at him.

"I know, honey. We will get them out of there, I promise," he said softly, tone conveying his sincerity. "You won't go through what happened last time again. I swear."

He could see the looks FP and Sweet Pea sent each other out of his peripheral but he paid them no mind; he only had eyes for Betty. She studied his face, taking in everything about his expression before nodding slowly.

"Okay," she whispered. "I believe you."

The way she said the three words was as if she was letting a weight fall off her chest, leaving Jughead puzzled to the fact about what she had to feel guilty for in the downfall of their relationship. She hadn't done anything wrong; had fought adamantly to get back to who they were before he broke up with her. Perhaps the manacles chained around her were self-imposed ones. Jughead didn't know. What he did know? He would be cutting them apart, one chain at a time, for however long he needed to until she was his once more.

Author's note: Enjoy! XXX


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